by Kitty Merrill | Apr 30, 2019 | Between Sundays, News (home)
No one ever joins a church because they want to serve on a committee,” is common wisdom. It is even largely – though not always – true. This is part of why folks who study church dynamics (and there are people who make a living at it) suggest churches move away from forming more committees.
In our very busy, often over-committed (over-committeed?) world, the word feels off-putting, hide-bound, and, well, tedious. Folks in the WWII generation and even the Baby Boomers joined committees and changed the world. Yet many today are more comfortable with shorter-term work that doesn’t necessarily mean meeting on the third Wednesday of every month.
Because of this, UU Ventura is slowly changing titles of the groups that form to help us live out our mission. Though it reflects more than a change in nomenclature, and a few people have expressed confusion about it. So here is a glossary: Committee – a formal group that meets regularly – usually monthly – and likely publishes formal minutes.
The best example for us is the Finance Committee; we definitely need them to meet monthly and their minutes are vital to keeping us all informed and aware of budgets and finance. Team – a group that meets on an as-needed basis. They likely take notes to keep team members on track, though don’t need published minutes. A team’s work is also likely more dynamic, more nimble.
A good example at UU Ventura is the Personnel Team. There are times their work ramps up and they meet regularly, although not necessarily monthly. There are times they do work by email, and times they touch base with each other, the board, or the minister to make sure things are on track. Task Force – a group gathers to complete a task and disbands when the task is done. They may keep notes, though not necessarily minutes. They likely write a report for the board, committee, or team that empowers them.
The Five Year Vision Task Force has five members, so we affectionately call the 5-4-5 Force. It was formed by the board to take the congregation through a mission and vision process. The end result will be a Five Year Vision Plan which will be created by committees and teams and a perhaps a task force or two. The plan will be approved by the board and then by the whole congregation. The 5-4-5 Force will then disband, rest a while on their laurels, likely move on to other church work.
My great hope is that we have a vibrant combination of committees, teams, task forces, affinity groups, and social groups that all actively engage people’s hearts, minds, spirits, and sense of devotion to the congregation and to creating justice in the world. That’s all, With Love, Rev. Dana
by Kitty Merrill | Apr 1, 2019 | Minister, News (home), Services Upcoming
I am writing to you a day after a wonderful Celebration Sunday. There was laughter and spirit and commitment flowing through the sanctuary and Berg Hall. It was a fabulous kick-off to a successful stewardship drive for our 2019-2020 fiscal year. I am so grateful for the multi-faceted generosity of this amazing congregation.
If you have not yet made your pledge for the year, your pledge increases can still be matched by the $30,000 fund which we received (from UUA funds matching legacy gifts from our members).
I am continually amazed that all of us together essentially create this church out of nothing – nothing but goodwill, love, and commitment. You make this church come into being through your service – through your time, talent, and treasure, your wisdom, work, and wealth.
We often talk about all of the volunteer time and work it takes to bring this community into being. Yet this blog post (from Rev. Erin Wathen, a Christian colleague) has a different taking on volunteering that really resonated with me. She says it is essentially impossible to be a volunteer at church.
“You cannot volunteer at your own church, in the same way you cannot babysit your own [children].
Because the church belongs to you in the same way your family does. It’s your own place, your own people. So of course you help take care of it.
Of course you do yard work and make coffee and teach the kids and sing in the choir and whatever all else it is you do for the home and the people you love.
A volunteer, in most cases, is just visiting. A fly-by. [It may be helpful], but it’s not the same as belonging to something. It’s not the same as contributing to something bigger than you, something that’s part of who you are.”
Rev. Erin Wathen
We volunteer, she goes on, for outside organizations in need, “a place that is important to you, but not in a place that belongs to you.”
What we do at our church is serve. “We bring our gifts of love and service to the altar of humanity,” as the famously wise author anonymous tells us. This makes me all the more grateful for all the gifts – of time, talent, and treasure, of love and service – that our dear members and friends bring forth all the time.
We are creating a Beloved Community every day with every breath. It takes all our gifts, our strengths, our foibles, our dreams, our clear heads, our open hearts, our fullest presence.
So thank you, thank you, thank you
Rev. Dana
by Kitty Merrill | Feb 7, 2019 | News (home)
by Kim Prieto, Feb. 2019
The 545 Vision Task Force has been working to synthesize the input we’ve received from the congregation to date. Informed by feedback from congregational meetings and surveys conducted by the board over the past year and from our congregational vision brainstorming session last fall, we’ve created a working draft of a new church mission statement. A mission statement is a formal summary of the aims and values of the church, in a concise format. Please sit with this and think about it for a while. There will be opportunities in the future to provide more input.
The mission of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ventura is to:
• Invite connections and diversity
• Spark and nurture free journeys of spiritual growth
• Reach out to create a more just and loving community, in harmony with nature
by Admin | Jan 21, 2018 | News (home)
Trying to find that great article from the church newsletter just got easier.
Now when you want to track down when Rev. Dana turned that perfect phrase, or take a look at what groups have received the church collection, you have two great ways to find what you are looking for.
Either click the Search link at the top of the page and type in a key word or phrase, or, scan through our archive of past columns from On Common Ground. It’s in the left sidebar of the newsletter link, or you can get directly to it here.
Happy browsing!
by Admin | Jan 1, 2018 | News (home)
We have a new “Connecting Committee” whose aim it is to foster engagement of members, friends, newcomers, and visitors into our church life.
Stop by our table, near the Welcome and Adult Program’s tables after church starting January 14, and talk with someone you may not know. We’ll have lots of information about the goings on in our church and a chance to go beyond questions to conversations. For more information contact Beverly Jordan at beverly@uuventura.org.
by Kitty Merrill | Apr 27, 2017 | News (home)
Dear Community of UUCV,
I could not be more excited to join you as DRE for Children and Youth! It is wonderful to continue this work of nurturing and celebrating our spiritual lives. To be involved in a trustworthy community who loves them and nurtures them in their growth is my vision for an RE program.
The first time I stepped into a Unitarian Universalist Sunday service, it was home. That was in college in 2008, when I had been “allergic” to church for several years. In the meantime, I practiced Buddhism in Thich Nhat Hanh’s tradition and returned to my Christian roots with the practice of centering prayer.
Most recently I have learned those who sit must also take a stand because social justice movement must be rooted in spiritual conviction. There is an inner light in every being and should be treated equally. I am grateful my spiritual journey has brought me to activism in a UU community where I can nurture my activist and contemplative sides.
By moving to Ventura, I’m returning home! I grew up in the 805 area code in Santa Maria, California, then studied at UC San Diego. I have served at UU churches in Studio City, Honolulu, San Jose, and Santa Fe, and am so ready to return to the central coast and plant roots!
My partner Neil and I are ready to build a life in Ventura. I am committed to work, learn, grow, and serve with you! I look forward to getting to know and practicing beloved community with each of you!
With Love & Light,
Emily Carroll
